Var B

“Is your husband aware of your affair?”

“Yes”

“How long has he known?”

“Since the day it began.”

“And he is OK with you fucking another man?”

“He didn’t really have much choice.”

“But the two of you are still planning on staying together?”

“Yes”

The panel members started to debate among themselves.

“I think Mr. Robertson should be in attendance when we decide on the appropriate punishment.”

“Does he need to be here when we decide, or only when we execute that punishment?”

“I think he should be here for both.”

“Let’s see if he is available to come here now.”

The panel called me and I arrived 15 minutes later.

“Your wife has committed a serious breach of her employment contract. In most circumstances her actions would lead to immediate dismissal. However, our panel has concluded that the majority of the responsibilities, in this case, rests with the more experienced teacher. We have agreed that your wife should be punished rather than fired, but we haven’t decided on the appropriate punishment at this point. We have invited you as an observer to the process because you have a vested interest in the outcome.”

I listened as the ideas bounced back and forth, often with several panel members talking at the same time. They were all in agreement that they wanted the punishment to be humiliating, even if they couldn’t agree on what would be sufficiently humiliating. They were all in agreement that a public flogging was an appropriate punishment. The questions were, who should be present to witness the flogging and who should participate in administering the flogging.

What the panel couldn’t agree on was the nature of any additional discipline. Her co-workers were generally looking for more intense daily humiliation during staff meetings or throughout the work day. The men on the panel seemed to think that the problem was a lack of sharing. Much like the idea that if you brought cookies to the classroom, you needed to bring enough for everyone. Men on the panel were suggesting that Beth should be sharing herself with more black men (particularly them). Women on the panel were calling this out as “jealousy talking” rather a form of punishment.

The panel was only advisory, it held no specific authority. The final decision was up to the administrator. After everyone had expressed their ideas and the conversation had shifted from generating new ideas to defending the ideas already presented, he stepped in to announce his decision.

“I have decided on a 3-part punishment for Mrs. Robertson. The first will be a public flogging. Thursday night is our Alumni vs Varsity Basketball Scrimmage fundraiser. Beth will be spanked in the gym an hour before tip-off. This will have the added benefit of increasing ticket sales for the event and increasing concession sales as people wait for the game to start. I will send out email announcements to parents immediately after this meeting and we will send a flyer home with students after school tomorrow. It is only 2 days away, but that should be plenty of time to increase ticket sales.

Mrs. Robertson will work the entrance as a ticket taker dressed in tight shorts and a revealing top. She will be stripped naked for her spanking. Each person of the panel members will give her 5 strokes with a strap, for a total of 50. If Beth can’t remain still for the entire spanking, she will be restrained in position. I will finish with 5 strokes from a cane.”